The present invention relates to an apparatus for packaging dosed quantities of solid drug portions, the apparatus comprising a plurality of storage containers each storing a plurality of solid drug portions and having a dosing means for dispensing first dosed quantities of solid drug portions, a plurality of collecting containers for collecting solid drug portions and for outputting the collected drug portions to a packaging station, guiding means for guiding the solid drug portions dispensed by the dosing means to one of the collecting containers, and an ancillary dosing station for delivering second dosed quantities of solid drug portions to the collecting containers, the ancillary dosing station comprising a plurality of buffer receptacles each temporarily holding one or a few solid drug portions and having a delivery means for outputting the held solid drug portion(s).
Such an apparatus is known from EP 1 433 457 A1. The document describes a medicine supply apparatus comprising a plurality of storage containers (tablet cases comprising a drive base and a container) each storing a plurality of solid drug portions and having a dosing means (in the drive base) for dispensing dosed quantities of solid drug portions. Two collecting containers are formed by two shutters. Each shutter receives the solid drug portions from one half of the storage containers and outputs the drug portions to a hopper which passes the drug portions to a packing station. The guiding means for guiding the solid drug portions dispensed by the dosing means to one of the two collecting containers are formed by vertical chutes formed by gaps between two shelves of storage containers. An ancillary dosing station for delivering second dosed quantities of solid drug portions is provided. The ancillary dosing station (called the medicine feeder) comprises a plurality of buffer receptacles (called reception compartments) each temporarily holding one solid drug portion or a few solid drug portions and having a delivery means for discharging the held solid drug portion(s) directly to the hopper.
It is usually advantageous to package dosed quantities of solid drug portions, such as tablets, capsules, caplets and pills, in bags, pouches or other types of packaging, wherein the drug portions in each bag are packed separately per ingestion, wherein the bag is provided with user information, such as the day and time of day the drug portions have to be taken. The bags for a user are typically attached to each other and supplied rolled up in a dispenser box.
The filling of individual packages with dosed quantities of solid drug portions (batches) is increasingly being automated. A known system for dosing solid medicines for final packaging in individual packages (such as the system known from EP 1 433 457 A1) comprises a plurality of supply containers (storage containers) each filled with a different type of drugs. After reading or entering a medicine prescription, the supply containers relevant to the prescription are opened in order to allow a dosed quantity of solid drug portions (e.g. one tablet or capsule or a small number of tablets or capsules) to drop into a central fall duct positioned under the outlets of the supply containers. At the bottom of the fall duct the selectively released drug portions are collected and forwarded to and filled in a package, such as a bag or pouch, after which the package is closed. Providing the package with user information can be realized here prior to or following filling of the packaging.
The known system does however have several drawbacks. A significant drawback of the known system is that the filling frequency or rate of the system depends to a considerable extent on, and is limited by, the (longest) drop time of a drug portion in the fall duct, whereby the filling frequency of the known system is limited and cannot be increased. That means that a filling cycle for a next bag may only start after the filling cycle for the present bag can be expected to complete, i.e. after expiry of the maximum time expected for a drug portion to fall from the most distant (highest) supply container along the fall duct down to the bottom and the packaging. However, owing to the permanently increasing demand for medicines, there is a need in practice to provide more packages of dosed quantities of drug portions per unit time.
Dutch application NL2007384 (not yet published) proposes an improved system for packaging dosed quantities of solid drug portions, comprising a plurality of dosing stations for dispensing dosed quantities of solid drug portions, a first endless conveyor belt for moving a plurality of parallel fall tubes (or fall ducts) coupled to the first conveyor belt along the dosing stations, wherein each fall tube is adapted to guide a dosed quantity of drug portions delivered by at least one supply container, a second endless conveyor belt for moving a plurality of collecting containers coupled to the second conveyor belt, wherein each collecting container is adapted to receive drug portions guided through one of the fall tubes, at least one dispensing and packaging station for transferring drug portions collected by each collecting container to a package and for closing the packaging. During the time the drug portions are guided by the fall tubes and fall down to the collecting containers, the fall-tubes and the collecting containers are moved in unison. Applying mobile fall tubes and collecting containers, which in fact function as temporary storage buffers, enables multiple medicine prescriptions to be collected in parallel (simultaneously) or overlapping instead of serially (successively), whereby the frequency for filling packages can be increased substantially. While the dosed quantity of drug portions drops through a fall tube, the fall tube and an underlying collecting container can be moved in continuous manner, generally in the direction of one or more following dosing stations which—depending on the prescription to be followed—can optionally be activated for the purpose of dispensing further dosed quantities of drug portions. Each collecting container can collect one prescription generally associated with one user and/or a given date and time.
The collecting container and a fall tube located above are not physically connected to each other, since uncoupling of the two components enhances the flexibility of the system. Physically separating the collecting containers from the fall tubes makes it possible to guide the collecting containers away from the fall tubes. In this context the physical length of the second conveyor belt is greater than the length of the first conveyor belt. This makes it possible to guide the collecting containers along one or more other types of (special) dosing stations (called ancillary dosing station here) for direct dispensing of drug portions to the collecting containers, i.e. not via fall tubes. These special dosing stations can advantageously be used for instance when special drug portions, being drug portions which are dosed less frequently, are applied. The Dutch application proposes an advantageous embodiment wherein each special dosing station is formed by a supply drawer coupled to a carrier frame in such a way that the supply drawer can be displaced. The use two such drawers is intended, with one supply drawer positioned above the collecting containers for the purpose of dispensing drug portions, while the other supply drawer is positioned a greater distance from the collecting containers to enable refilling thereof. It is advantageous for the purpose of filling that each supply drawer is coupled detachably to the (same) carrier frame.
It is an object of the invention to provide an apparatus for packaging dosed quantities of solid drug portions, whereby said apparatus has an increased filling rate and can dispense additional solid drug portions of an ancillary dosing station (comprising a plurality of buffer receptacles each temporarily holding one solid drug portion or a few number thereof) in a flexible manner.
According to the invention the apparatus for packaging dosed quantities of solid drug portions comprises a plurality of storage containers each storing a plurality of solid drug portions and having a dosing means for dispensing first dosed quantities of solid drug portions, a plurality of moving collecting containers for collecting solid drug portions and for outputting the collected drug portions to a packaging station, guiding means for guiding the solid drug portions dispensed by the dosing means to one of the plurality of collecting containers, an ancillary dosing station for delivering second dosed quantities of solid drug portions to the collecting containers, transport means for moving the collecting containers between at least one first location at which the collecting containers receive the solid drug portions from the guiding means, at least one second location at which the collecting containers receive the solid drug portions from the ancillary dosing station and at least one third location at which the collecting containers output the collected solid drug portions to the packaging station, the collecting containers being moved along a predetermined path, the ancillary dosing station comprising a plurality of buffer receptacles, each temporarily holding one or a few solid drug portions and having a delivering means for outputting the hold solid drug portion(s) to one of the collecting containers at the at least one second location during their movement along the predetermined path, and control means coupled to the transport means and the delivering means of the buffer receptacles for selectively controlling the delivering means depending on the positions of the moving collecting containers so that the solid drug portions temporarily held in the buffer receptacles are output to selected collecting containers.
The provision of delivering means of the buffer receptacles that can be selectively controlled by the control means depending on the positions of the moving collecting containers makes it possible to discharge a buffer receptacle into an arbitrarily selected collecting container of a plurality of moving collecting containers so that the special drug portions can be put alone into a selected collecting container or can be added to drug portions discharged from the storage containers. Moreover, multiple drug portions of multiple buffer receptacles can be discharged simultaneously into different collecting containers.
In one embodiment, the apparatus for packaging dosed quantities of solid drug portions is characterized in that the buffer receptacles of the ancillary dosing station are stationary and arranged so that each delivering means can output the solid drug portions at a specific position above the predetermined path the collecting containers are moving along, the control means being configured to trigger a particular delivering means of the stationary buffer receptacles, if a particular collecting container into which the solid drug portions is to be delivered is moved below the specific position of the particular delivering means. Preferably, each delivering means comprises a closure member at the bottom of the corresponding stationary buffer receptacle. In a preferred embodiment, the dosing station comprises at least one set of movable transport buffer receptacles, wherein the moveable transport buffer receptacles of the set can be moved together between at least one first position at which the moveable transport buffer receptacles can be filled and at least one second position at which at least a portion of the moveable transport buffer receptacles can be unloaded into the stationary buffer receptacles. In one embodiment the movable transport buffer receptacles can be moved horizontally between the at least one first position and the at least one second position. Another preferred development of this embodiment is characterized in that the predetermined path is a horizontal linear path, so that the stationary buffer receptacles are arranged in a linear row above the linear path. This simplifies the design and allows for the guiding of the moving collecting buffers by a linear rail. Preferably, the movable transport buffer receptacles of one set are arranged in a matrix of columns and rows in a horizontal plane, wherein a row of the moveable transport buffer receptacles is positioned above the row of the stationary buffer and can be unloaded, if the set of moveable transport buffer receptacles is moved into one of a number of second positions, the number of second positions corresponding to the number of receptacles in a column. The arrangement of the receptacles in rows and columns facilitates the handling when the receptacles are re-filled.
In one embodiment, the dosing station comprises two sets of movable transport buffer receptacles, wherein on set can be filled in its first position while the other set can be unloaded in one of its at least one second positions. This leads to an increased filling rate, because it avoids waiting for the re-filling of the transport buffer receptacles after the last transport buffer receptacle has been discharged into the stationary buffer receptacle.
In another preferred embodiment the dosing station comprises at least one removable transport tray having a plurality of compartments, each compartment for receiving one solid drug portion or a small number thereof to be filled into one of the set of moveable transport buffer receptacles, wherein the arrangement of the compartments of the transport tray corresponds to the arrangement of the receptacles of the set of moveable transport buffer receptacles, whereby the transport tray can be positioned above the set of moveable transport buffer receptacles positioned at the first position so that each compartment is positioned above a corresponding receptacle, the bottom of each compartment comprising a closure member which can be opened if the tray is positioned above the set of moveable transport buffer receptacles so that the transport buffer receptacles can be filled. Preferably, a fill docking station is provided to which the removable transport tray can be coupled, the fill docking station comprising means for assisting manual filling of the compartments with the solid drug portions.
In preferred embodiments, the guiding means for guiding the solid drug portions dispensed by the dosing means to one of the plurality of moving collecting containers comprise a plurality of moving fall tubes (or drop tubes), each fall tube being at least temporarily associated with a collecting container and being arranged vertically above the associated collecting container during its movement along the predetermined path at the at least one first location. Preferably, the plurality of storage containers with their dosing means are arranged in at least one matrix of rows of vertical columns, each column comprising a plurality of vertically stacked storage containers, wherein output openings of their dosing means are arranged adjacent to corresponding input openings in a sidewall of an fall tube when the moving fall tube is positioned adjacent to the column.